Breathe
by Antha32
Summary: 'I stared at his lifeless body in Hagrid's arms, watched the arms that held me so many times, daring them to move, daring him to breathe.' Ginny's POV of the Battle of Hogwarts. One-Shot.


**_A/N- This is a story I have thought about writing for a long time, and I finally decided to write it a couple of days ago. It is only a one-shot, but I really like it. It's Ginny's point of view of the Battle of Hogwarts. Ginny has always been one of my favorite characters, and I always wondered what that night must have been like for her. So please read, enjoy, and review! - Sam _**

_"We are not interested in the possibilities of defeat. They do not exist."_ _-_ A.J. Balfour

"_I can't breathe without you, but I have too."- _Taylor Swift

I had never felt so many different feelings in one day. Independence for defying my mother's wishes and fighting. Energy to fight. Hope to win. Fear of losing my family, my classmates, my friends. Mum, Dad, Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Ron, Luna, Neville, Remus, Tonks, Hermione, Harry...the names continuously ran through my head. Sadness, later, pure, heartbreaking sadness of the losses of Colin, my brave, small friend... Remus, the kind, familiar, new father who would never know his son ... Tonks, the girl who fell so hopelessly in love with a man who did not think he was good enough for her, and then married her anyway... Fred, my poor brother who had died with a laugh on his face... and so many more who left the Earth tonight.

But nothing, no one, would have, could have, prepared me for this.

I had screamed first. Screamed his name along with so many others, my straining voice getting lost in the crowd. I tried to run to him, but someone shakily grabbed me from behind. I felt tears run down my face, felt sobs rack from my body, making me violently tremble. Then I stared. Stared at his lifeless body in Hagrid's arms, watched the arms that had held me so many times, daring them to move, daring him to breathe. Looked at that face, his closed eyes, the shocking green blaze to never be seen again.

Then I felt. I felt nothing. Empty, alone, dead inside. He was gone. He had been the one to keep me going. I would never see him, or kiss him, or talk to him again. It was him, it had always been him. He, the boy I had crushed on for years, the boy who I had tried to tell myself I was over with, the boy who fell in love with me, the boy who was the only boy I had ever really, truly loved. He was mine, my Harry- brave, kind, modest, caring, strong, loving, the best friend ever, the boy who would fly to the moon and back 5000 times for me, the man who would have rescued a criminal at his own personal risk, the man who wore the weight of the world on his shoulders, the man who had lost so much in his life, and yet kept going for the stake of everyone. Mine.

And evil had snatched him away from me. Again. But this time, it wasn't just for a little while. It wasn't so he could fight them or so he could protect me. He was really gone and he was never coming back.

I felt a spark, a flame of fury in my chest. I had to defeat them once and for all. They would pay for what they did to Harry, what he did to Harry. They would pay for what they did to countless people, so many families ripped apart, so much fear put into our hearts. This would end now. No one should have to live like this. No one should fear leaving their home or going to school or being forced to do something. No Muggleborn should die because of their blood status or family. No innocent little girls should be possessed by evil. No one should have to fear that their first kiss with the love of their life would be their last. No one should have to watch a loved one die. No one should have to sacrifice their own life to end an evildoer. And yet, here we were. There was no way I was going to let this continue. This would never happen again. Even if I lost my life in this, it would be worth it. Better me instead of someone else who had a child or a wife or a… husband to go home to.

I joined in the battle happening all around me. I headed straight towards Voldemort, but met Bellatrix first. Might as well fight her too, considering all the pain she had caused us. Hermione and Luna joined me, us fighting along with everyone, half of us barely more than children. We were young and foolish children, fighting for our lives. And though it was wrong, though it was bad, I didn't want to be anywhere else in the world.

I tried to beat her. I really did. I don't think I ever fought so hard in my entire life, and we were fighting three against one. But I saw that killing curse coming towards me, and I knew it was the end. I closed my eyes and prayed that they would win when I was gone, that I would see Harry soon. My heart leaped at the thought of his dark hair and green eyes and the feel of his lips on mine…

But death did not come. The green light missed me by a centimeter. But my mother did come. And, Merlin, was she amazing. I didn't know my own mother could fight like that. And I didn't know my mother could beat that horrid woman. But she did. I was proud of her. But only for a moment. Because then a green light came her way, from the very man who started this all. No, I screamed in my mind. Not her, too! We can't lose her too!

That's when my heart nearly stopped.

Because the voice that had cast the shield charm that saved my mother, the man that had appeared out of nowhere, was Harry.  
First came the shock, the disbelief. Then, relief, love, being, feeling flooded back into me. He was alive. He was safe. He was living, breathing. At least for now.  
I screamed for him again. I tried to run to him, but Ron grabbed my arm and held me back. His breaths came out ragged, looking as shocked as I felt. I looked quickly over at him and Hermione, who Ron had his other arm around. The look of them felt like a reflection of my emotions. Tears stained their dirty faces, and even though they still looked terrified and confused, their eyes flickered with relief and hope.

"I don't want anyone to help," Harry yelled, his eyes on Voldemort, "It's got to be like this. It's got to be me."

I watched Harry and Voldemort circle one another, my heart racing. I listened to them, listened to Harry's explanation. And the story finally became whole to me.

The Horcruxes, the things that held Voldemort's soul in them, the objects that had kept him alive, were gone. Snape, _Snape_, the man who let those Carrows torture children all year, the man who had killed Dumbledore, the man who betrayed us all, had been in love with Lily Potter, had been on our side since the day of her death sentence. The Elder Wand, the wand that I had heard was the wand that was supposed to help Voldemort kill Harry, was not really his. The words Ollivander had always said were true. _The wand chooses the wizard._ Lily, who had died for Harry all those years ago, had changed her son's destiny so much, had truly saved him. Harry, who sacrificed himself willingly and knowingly, had died for us as his mother did for him, saving us. Harry, who had survived and come back to fight and defeat.

It _was _love. Love, the thing that Voldemort always denied, always underestimated. Love, the thing that made us stronger in the end. Love was something to fight for, was something to hope for. Love was what saved us all, from the moment Lily Potter stepped in harm's way for her son, until this moment where that little boy, now a grown man, fought for us out of love and friendship and family.

Harry had always been stronger than Voldemort. Dumbledore had been right about _everything._

The sun was rising through the dark clouds as Harry and Voldemort cast their spells. It was a new day, a new beginning, waiting for the dark one to end, once and for all.

"_Avada Kedavra!"_ Voldemort screamed.

"_Expelliarmus!"_

And suddenly, Voldemort was on the ground, truly dead. His spell had backfired, killing himself. Harry stood panting, both the blackthorn and the Elder wand in his hand.

There was a moment of silence. Then, I was running. I was running towards him as fast as my tired legs would carry me. Ron and Hermione got there first, there arms tightly around Harry. But Harry lifted his head, his blazing green eyes meeting mine. I hurled myself at him, my small arms wrapped around his neck. I hugged him so close, silent tears running down my face. I could feel his heart beating under my cheek, could smell his familiar, alive scent. He was covered in dirt and blood, and he looked utterly exhausted, but I had never seen anyone so beautiful.

His arms were as tightly wrapped around me as mine were around him. I felt him press his face into my hair, felt him breathe me in. His lips gently touched my forehead, reassuring me that this wasn't just a dream. He was here.

He was different than the boy I had first fallen in love with. He had grown so much since then, become a man who had experienced even more than before, a man with a different view on living and dying. Though, then again, I was a different girl than before. He and I both knew what it was like to lose life, what it was like to see our loved ones die. We both knew that friendship and family and love would always be more important than anything else in the world. We both understood now, that death wasn't the end, but only a new beginning. There were things far worse than death. We would know.

We both knew what most was that I loved him and he loved me. And I had never loved him more than I did at that moment.

"_Life is beautiful. But it's complicated. We barely make it. We don't need to understand. There are miracles. Miracles…"-_ Vega4


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